Intel recently unveiled the new RealSense 3D Depth Camera for smartphones. The sensor will be used to recognize hand and head movements. It will also make it possible to edit the focus on pictures after they are taken.
Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, unveiled the prototype. When one expert claimed there were questions remaining about the power demands, Krzanich showed an example of the phone, but he didn’t give a demonstration. He claimed it was still in the early stages of development.
Intel’s latest prototype
Intel’s representative explained that the device shown on stage was a prototype created as part of a collaboration with an unnamed Chinese company. The device shows different types of apps, form factors and usage models which RealSense can integrate. This new technology is similar to the Kinect motion-and-image sensor, but it’s in a smaller package. Although the technology is less popular with gamers, it could be something people want in their phones.
The need for a new technology
Davis Murphy Group consultant Chris Green claimed high-resolution cameras are no longer the selling point for high-end smartphones. Phone makers need something more to keep consumers interested in new phones, and this technology could provide it. Intel has already achieved about half of this challenge, but it is still unknown if the power side has been figured out. It is easy to put a large battery into a laptop and provide access to the main power source, but it is completely another thing to do this for a phone that needs all-day power.
Last January, Intel announced that laptops were to incorporate RealSense components thanks to a collaboration with Belgian-based SoftKinetic. There was a suggestion that tech could be used to offer better gesture recognition, subsequently allowing users to control devices without having to touch them. There might also be a way to scan objects for later editing and 3D printing.
